The was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, based in southern Manchukuo and active in combat against the Soviet Union in the very final stages of the war.Jowett, The Japanese Army 1931-45
History The Japanese 3rd Area Army was formed on October 29, 1943 under the control of the Kwantung Army as a military reserve and garrison force to maintain security and public order in southern Manchukuo as many veteran divisions of the Kwantung Army were transferred to the various southern fronts in the Pacific War. It consisted mostly of minimally-trained reservists, conscripted students and home guard militia, without adequate weapons or supplies.Frank, Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire The 3rd Area Army was headquartered in Mukden.
The units of the 3rd Area Army proved to be no match for the Red Army when the Soviet Union invaded Manchukuo towards the end of World War II. General Jun Ushiroku refused orders from Kwantung Army Headquarters to retreat, and launched a counterattack along the Mukden–Port Arthur railway, along which many Japanese civilians were fleeing. However, General Uchiroku was hampered by lack of armor and by insufficient ammunition, and by August 13, 1945, his formations were largely shattered. A mutiny by the Manchukuo Imperial Army at Shinkyō ended his attempts to regroup.Glantz, The Soviet Strategic Offensive in Manchuria, 1945 Many surviving soldiers of the 3rd Area Army, including General Ushiroku, became prisoners in Siberia and other parts of the Soviet Union after the surrender of Japan on August 15, 1945.
List of Commanders
Commanding officer Name From To1 General Naozaburo Okabe 29 October 1943 25 August 19442 General Jun Ushiroku25 August 1944 15 August 1945
Chief of Staff Name From To1 Major General Yo Watanabe 29 October 1943 26 October 19442 Major General Masao Yano26 October 1944 23 March 19453 Major General Kazama Otsubo23 March 1945 15 August 1945
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